


A Favor

by LadyNovaJade



Series: Alternate Universe [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Romance, Slow Burn, Team Building, Trust Issues, family stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-30
Updated: 2015-09-30
Packaged: 2018-04-24 02:10:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4901512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyNovaJade/pseuds/LadyNovaJade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Toni Stark has given up the superhero gig. She's content to be in her lab. That's until Steve Rogers comes in asking for a favor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Favor

**Author's Note:**

> I have a thing for writing Tony Stark as a woman. \I just find that the dynamic would be incredibly interesting if Stark was a woman, butting heads with Steve Rogers and then falling head over heels in love. Not to mention all the facades the character of Stark brings.

Toni Stark was up to her elbows in oil and soot, attempting to adjust the engine on her precious Audi. It was work that calmed her, work she rejoiced in. The solitude was what made it ideal. Just her, the engine, Jarvis, and her blaring rock music – so loud it rattled the glass in her lab housed in the new tower.

With Pepper running Stark Industries, the recent fall of Hydra-infested SHIELD, and the destruction of all her Iron Woman suits, Toni found she had a lot of time on her hands. She tried to tell herself this was what she wanted. What she needed.

Still didn’t change it from sucking hairy balls.

At that moment, the wrench Toni was using slipped and she scraped her knuckles inside the motor. “Fuck!” she cried out, her frustrations boiling over. She turned and threw the tool across the room, not giving two shits where it landed or what it broke.

Blood tainted her blackened hands and seeing it caused that stupid, fluttering panic in her chest. She moved quickly to a sink near by and turned on the faucet, sticking her hand under the stream. She hissed in pain and screwed her eyes shut, forcing herself to keep her hand steady under the water.

“Should I call for a doctor, ma’am?” Jarvis’ voice sounded, the rock music abruptly cut off.

Toni sighed and hung her head. “No, I can patch it up on my own. Thanks.”

“Then I feel it is important to inform you Captain Rogers is ascending to this floor in the elevator.”

Toni groaned. Seriously, was the universe out to get her? Nat had been by a few weeks ago, looking for a place to crash and dropped a hint about the Avengers getting back together now there was no SHIELD. Toni thought she was joking.

Then Bruce – BRUCE of all people – appeared and hinted around to something similar. Thor followed a few days later, talking about Loki’s scepter and the fate of the universe, blah, blah, blah. Some Asgardian nonsense Toni was happy to ignore. She wasn’t about aliens and other dimensions, she’d had her fill of that thanks.

She was done battling. Done with suits and psychos. She’d help the world with her tech. That was how it was supposed to be.

Now Steve was here. Toni didn’t want to think about what his presence would bring about. Not just in asking her to be apart of the team again, IF that was why he was there, but him just being near her. That made her chest seize with anxiety.

Toni wasn’t sure how it happened or when for that matter, but she had it bad for Steve Rogers. Real bad. Before the collapse of SHIELD and after she destroyed all her suits, they had run into each other a few times at the offices in D.C. Each time, Steve’s smile got a bit brighter when he saw her. Each time they joked a bit more, felt a bit more at ease with each other. Each time her heart would thud a bit more weirdly.

Fuck, she hated that.

“Ma’am, Captain Rogers has arrived and is asking for entrance into the lab,” Jarvis’ voice, warm and level as always, brought her back to the present.

Toni had been so wrapped up in her thoughts, she forgot he wouldn’t have codes. And that she was still bleeding. “Shit,” Toni mumbled, fumbling for the first aid kit she knew was under the sink. “Yeah, um, let him in please.”

She was still struggling to find the damn kit when she heard Steve’s heavy, sure footsteps enter the room. “Stark, thanks for letting me come by,” Steve said. Firm and straight to the point. As always when he was on a mission. Great, that would hopefully mean this would be quick and smooth.

“Yeah, uh, no worries.” Toni then cursed again. “Look, Cap, before we get into the greater good and saving America and her interests, I could really use an extra hand here.”

Steve came up to her side and she could swear she felt the shift in his demeanor. “Geez, Toni, you’re bleeding all over the sink!” he said, moving to stand behind her and wrapping his arms around her. His body along hers, he used his hands to cup her injured one and hold it under the gentle stream of water.

It took Toni’s brain a whole 30 seconds to catch up with what was happening. “No shit, Sherlock,” she replied, her voice not as steady as she told herself it was going to be. “I’ve got the cleaning part down, but I could use a hand with the first aid kit.”

“Oh, yeah, okay,” Steve said quickly, obviously knocked out of his shock, moving away from her to crouch down next to her. Toni pushed her lips into a tight line, reciting the elements as she listened to him rummaging for the kit, his big, warm body knocking against her thigh gently now and again.

Toni made herself concentrate hard on those periodic elements like her life depended on it. The blood was starting to stem, so if she was gonna kick the bucket finally, this injury of course would not be the reason. No, thinking about Captain Steve Rogers kneeling before her, those big hands running up the back of her calves and thighs would just about do it…

“Okay, got it,” he said triumphantly, popping back up with the kit in hand. He pushed several random items from the space next to the sink and looked at her. “All right come on. Up you get.” That damn, efficient “I don’t let anything bother me” voice.

Toni grumbled under her breath as he calmly opened up the kit and pulled out what he needed to bandage her up. Why was she the only one effected by this? He had to be effected by her right? She may have not been out partying in a few years, and well she wasn’t even going to try to think about the last time she had sex. Kinda painful to admit it had been just as many years since a man had been in her bed. But Toni Stark was still attractive; she knew she could still get it … or at least she thought she could…

“Hey, you with me?” Steve was bent down slightly so his bright blue eyes were locked on her.

Toni swallowed hard and found herself nodding eagerly to avoid speaking. He stared at her for a second, as if he were going to question her further. But he let it go, apparently realizing her hand was more important than whatever was running through her mind. He turned back to the kit and Toni made herself take a big, deep breath, cursing under her breath to get her act together. It was a little difficult to get on the table with just one hand, but she managed it, hissing in pain when she attempted to flex her scraped up fingers.

“Here,” Steve said softly, gently taking her injured hand.

She kept her lips pressed together in that tight line again as her palm came to rest in his. His was large, warm with a few callouses. For some reason, she stared at her hand in his; partly as a distraction from the stinging, partly because it was really rather fascinating. There were so many contrasts between them: her skin was darker than his, it was dirty (as well as bloody), and her palm was so much smaller than this.

Steve was cleaning the wound a bit more with a soft cloth, examining her knuckles intently. “Shouldn’t get in such disagreements with the tools, kid,” he commented, his lips quirking just slightly with a smile.

The joke had Toni letting out a huff, her own mouth curling in a small smile. “Yeah, thanks.”

They were silent again as Steve treated and then began to dress her wounds on each finger. He worked calmly, but efficiently, with a clear and practiced ease. She watched him again, her mind whirling, until the need to speak became too great.

“All the files lied about you,” she said softly, gauging the tiniest of reactions in his face before he paused and looked up at her. He allowed confusion to be the prominent look now, so she smirked. “You weren’t really a soldier, you were a medic, right?”

That brought a smile to his face before his ducked his head again to finish wrapping her hand. “You found me out. Spent the war fixing guys up instead of battling Hydra.”

Toni’s smirk turned into a genuine smile. “Best kept secret of the war.”

“Damn right,” Steve answered, smiling still as he sat her hand in her lap. “Take it easy with that.”

“Yes, sir,” she saluted before quickly hopping off the table. Time to put space between them before she allowed that moment to grow into something. Because it already was warming her from head to toe. And knowing herself as she did, if she allowed it to continue, she would do or say something really stupid.

“So, to what do I owe this pleasure?” Toni asked him, her back turned as she started poking at a monitor just for fun.

“Saw Romanoff the other day,” he responded and out of the corner of her eye, she saw him handle and examine a few of her tools laying out. “Said she was crashing here a couple weeks ago.”

Toni turned back to him completely, her attention caught. “Wait … you and Nat talked about me?”

“It came up in our conversation,” Steve said, calm and smooth, but not looking up at her.

She took a step to him and put her hands on her hips. “Uh huh,” she responded. “And I’m sure these conversations include the other Avengers as well, right?”

“Absolutely.” Another quick, calm response.

“Hmm,” she mused.

Finally, he looked over at her, raising one of those perfect eyebrows. His face held a look that conveyed both an air of command yet confusion. “What?”

“You know, when you lie, your Brooklyn accent slips and gets a bit deeper.”

That earned her the classic Cap-disapproving look; pursed lips, furrowed brow, dropped chin. “It does not,” he countered.

Toni smirked, “You aren’t the only one to have conversations with Romanoff.”

They had a nice little stare down before Steve scoffed and shook his head. “Is it that hard for you to believe someone cares about you, Toni?”

The question was so the opposite of what she was expecting, Toni could only blink at him. “Ummm, yes?”

Steve frowned, “Why is that?”

Toni sighed and crossed her arms, “Honestly, I thought it was because I was the designated pain in the ass.”

The small smile she shot to him after that statement didn’t bring the expected affect. Instead of smiling in return, Steve looked at her blankly. Then he did something that scared Toni even more. He closed the space between them. Her body tensed as Steve stood in front of her toe to toe. She gulped and found herself staring at his chest. That nice, broad, well-muscled chest. Oooooh this wasn’t good.

She was just starting to wonder how nice it would be to cuddle against him when Steve reached out and tilted her head up. Her eyes widened.

“Toni, we do care about you. The entire team,” he said softly.

Okay, things were getting too real, too fast. Toni pursed her lips and took a very much needed step backward. She chanced a look up at him again; blue eyes wide, filled with concern, lips parted. She ran a hand through her hair, messing up her lose ponytail even more.

“You don’t have to worry about me, I’m fine,” Toni said with too much of a practiced ease.

The look of concern deepened in Steve’s eyes. “That’s why all your suits are gone? Why you went through with the surgery that could have killed you?”

She hung her head, “Things that needed to be done and were necessary for me to be okay. The world doesn’t need Iron Woman.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Steve interrupted her.

Toni looked up, “Oh yeah? I’m pretty sure when you start panicking over every possible threat, you start to do more harm than good,” she shot back. “Trust me. The world does not need me attempting to save it.”

He shook his head, “Come on, Toni. You and I both know we need you.”

She narrowed her eyes, “That’s what this is about then? You really weren’t so concerned you needed to come see me?” She was trying desperately not to sound disappointed; she was sure she failed miserably again.

Steve leveled her with a stern glance. Toni held her own and found a bit of redemption in that. Finally, he caved first, sighing. “Toni, I was concerned. Whether you want to believe it or not, your team cares about you,” he replied gruffly.

“But it wasn’t the only reason you came here?” she threw back at him.

It was a blow he took with a defeated grimace. “No, it’s not the only reason. We need a favor.”

Toni scoffed under her breath, “Always a fucking catch.”

“I wanted to come check in with you last week, but then Thor showed,” he continued.

That was too much of a coincidence for Toni to continue to pout about the reason Steve was really there. “So he’s making the rounds too?” she asked.

Steve gave her a serious look, “He said he had come to tell you too. He thinks he’s found Loki’s scepter, or might have a lead at least.”

She furrowed her brow, “He might have alluded to something about knowing where it was. But I thought it was just mumblings about some Asgardian stuff. That he was getting antsy and hell even home sick.”

“Did you see SHIELD’s reports on the Enhanceds before everything collapsed?” he asked.

“You mean before you trashed it?” she countered with a smirk. Before he could answer, she spoke again, “Yes, I might have taken a peek at some files. You know me.”

Steve didn’t necessarily acknowledge that; just kept on point, “Those enhanced subjects? Strucker was experimenting on them with the specter, Toni.”

Toni felt her heart fall to the pit of her stomach. “He experimented on them?” she asked.

Steve nodded grimly, “We’ve got to get that thing out of their hands and shut down Hydra once and for all.” He paused and took a deep breath. “We can’t do it without you, Toni.”

A thousand things rushed through her mind. The first was that prominent need to help; the pull to fix the wrongs of the world. Toni swallowed hard, “You can’t ask this of me, Steve,” she said softly. “Not this time.”

There was an awkward silence before he took a deep breath and stepped toward her, “Toni, I know this …”

“No, Steve, you don’t know,” she interrupted softly.

They stared at one another again and the look of almost pity she detected in his face was enough to make her turn her gaze away. Toni sighed, running a hand through her hair again, hoping he didn’t see it shake. “I was serious about my suits. They’re all gone.”

He furrowed his brow when she glanced back at him. She pursed her lips and threw her arms out, “I can’t do it anymore, okay?” she said gruffly. “All of you, you don’t get it. My brain won’t shut off. In that suit, I wouldn’t worry about fall outs, damage control. I just wanted to fly around like I was some badass that’s untouchable. I always end up doing more harm than good, okay?”

Steve didn’t respond and Toni swallowed hard. “I can’t be Iron Woman anymore,” she said matter-of-factly. “Just can’t happen.”

She kept her eyes from him, pursing her lips to keep her emotions in check. When she finally looked up at him, the look in Steve’s eyes told her he could see the tears glistening in hers. Toni took in a shaky breath; this meeting was going in a direction she wasn’t exactly thrilled by. Why couldn’t she and Steve have some flirty, sexual encounter? Why in the hell did he always have to make her feel things she spent her life trying to avoid?

Oh keep it together, Toni, she kept telling herself. Just keep it together.

Steve took a few steps closer to her, causing her heart speed up. Something in her felt like he leaned toward her, reaching for her. But that would be crazy. Yet, there he was, in her personal space, acting like he belonged there. So close … so close that Toni’s skin prickled.

“Toni, I know you’ve been through a lot,” he started softly. “We all understand that because we’ve all been through terrible things. That’s why we’re the Avengers, why it has to be us.”

Toni licked her lips, “So we can right the wrongs?”

Steve shook his head, “No. To ensure what we went through never happens to anyone else ever again. So no one will have to know our pain. So we can protect the world.”

Toni would later tell herself she didn’t shutter, that her lower lip didn’t quiver. After a moment, Steve gave her a nod, “I’m not going to push you into anything, Toni. But if you change your mind, you’ll always have a place on the team.”

Dammit, how in the hell did he do that? He was able to get right in past her walls, and he probably didn’t even knew it. And he got her; got her in so many ways, especially in the righteous ones. Steve thought he could defend the world and that would always be enough. What was more, he made her think he believed the same applied to her. She knew for a fact she could never be even an ounce of what he was. He looked at her now though as if she’d hung the moon. Toni locked her knees to keep herself from throwing her arms around him in a hug.

What the hell… She was freakin’ losing her mind.

Steve opened his mouth to say something, but seemed to change his mind. He pursed his lips and gave her a soft smile before he turned. It was strange, but at that moment, Toni knew what she was going to do.

“It’s not going to be a quick process,” she said suddenly, causing Steve to stop and turn back toward her. “I need time to piece together a suit. Four weeks at the earliest.”

Steve’s lips turned up in the faintest of smiles. “Whatever you need. Thor and I will continue scouting possible Hydra bases; try to flush Strucker out. I’ll keep you posted.”

Toni nodded, her brain already reeling in plans. “Same goes,” she replied. “You owe me you know.”

Steve gave her a slight nod, not necessarily as an acknowledgement but more like he knew something she didn’t. They stared at one another once more, something quite different between them, waiting to catch light. But Toni was too awkward for those things now. Play girl days were over. She gave him a nod and turned, thinking of who to bug first for what she’d need for a new suit.

“And Stark,” Steve’s sure, steady voice called out from the door.

She turned back, looking at him expectedly.

His face was serious. “Next time, call me,” he said, sounding every much the leader they both knew he was. “You’re not alone.”

Toni’s heart clenched in a crazy unexpected way, then thudded erratically against her rib cage. There were a dozen things she could say … even more that she could do.

Instead, Toni blinked slowly and dropped her head in a slight nod, “Yes, sir, Captain.”

A smirk from Steve and then he was gone. Just as quickly as he had charged in. Toni drew in a very deep breath, remembering what her therapist told her of controlling the spiral. But this spiral wasn’t anxiety. No, it’s something far more terrifying, Toni thought as she watched Steve’s retreating, broad frame walk to the elevator, then disappear.

“Ma’am, should I bring up suit plans?” Jarvis’ warm voice asked.

Something in Toni ached dully.

“Yeah, pull up Mark IX, buddy.”


End file.
